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Texas Tech football: Red Raiders must be better in 4th quarter this season

By Matthew Conner

AUSTIN, TX - NOVEMBER 29: SaRodorick Thompson #28 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders runs the ball defended by Juwan Mitchell #6 of the Texas Longhorns in the first quarter at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on November 29, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TX - NOVEMBER 29: SaRodorick Thompson #28 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders runs the ball defended by Juwan Mitchell #6 of the Texas Longhorns in the first quarter at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on November 29, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /
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Quarterback Jett Duffey #7 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders is hit by defensive tackle Corey Bethley #94 of the TCU Horned Frogs. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
Quarterback Jett Duffey #7 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders is hit by defensive tackle Corey Bethley #94 of the TCU Horned Frogs. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

A third of Tech’s turnovers came in the fourth quarter

Last year, the Texas Tech football team was actually one of the best in the country when it came to turnover margin.  By taking the ball away from its opponents 0.5 more times per game than it gave the ball away, Tech was No. 32 in the nation in that category.

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But in the fourth quarter, the Red Raiders turned rather careless with the football.  Of the 15 total giveaways Tech had last year, five came in the final quarter of games.  Simple trigonometry shows that to be a third of all of the Red Raiders’ turnovers.

Many of those were backbreaking.  McLane Mannix’s fumble against TCU on the second play of Tech’s final possession sealed the Frog’s 33-31 win.  A week later, Jett Duffey was picked off in the fourth quarter just one play after a daring fake punt pass kept the Red Raiders’ hopes alive.  And who could forget Douglas Coleman’s ill-fated lateral attempt after Tech blocked Kansas’ first game-winning FG attempt?

Taking care of the football is paramount in the fourth quarter.  And giving it away five times is a reason Tech was ranked No. 106 in the nation in points per game in the final quarter by averaging just 5.0.

Meanwhile, Tech was not all that effective at taking the ball away in the final period.  Tech managed just a lone interception against Oklahoma State, Baylor, and Kansas State as the only three fourth-quarter turnovers that went the way of the good guys.

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So this season, look to see if Tech is able to take the ball away more often and protect it with more veracity when the game is on the line.  If that happens, the fourth quarter could wind up being much more enjoyable for Red Raider fans in 2020.

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